Introduction
Before we get any further I need to credit the original mind for this piece as I did not come up with this material. What follows is a powerful message from Clint Darden, an elite powerlifter, motivational speaker, and cancer survivor. I strongly suggest watching Clint’s speech on YouTube (here) as his delivery and predicament make this message much more powerful than words on a screen ever could. So, without further ado:
Three Workers
Three construction workers were sitting on a bridge digging into their lunches during their break one day. The first worker opens his lunchbox, “Aw man, ham and cheese again. My wife is driving me nuts. I tell you what guys, if I get ham and cheese tomorrow, I will jump off this bridge. Life is not worth living.”
The second worker cracks open his lunchbox, “Dammit! Ham and cheese again. My wife doesn’t listen to me. I’m with you, [worker 1], if I get ham and cheese tomorrow I will jump off this bridge. Life is not worth living.”
The third worker peeks into his lunchbox, “Same here, fellas. Ham and cheese. If I get ham and cheese tomorrow, I will jump off this bridge. Life is not worth living.”
Sure enough, the next day the three workers found themselves tearing into their lunches during their break. The first worker opens his box and finds a cheeseburger. “Phew, thank god. It’s a cheeseburger. I was really gonna do it though!”
The second worker pulls out his lunch, “Whew, that was a close one. Philly cheesesteak, boys. I was really gonna do it too!”
The third worker opens his lunch to a ham and cheese sandwich and promptly jumps off the bridge. The first worker was aghast, “I didn’t think he’d do it! I wasn’t serious!”
The second worker replied, “I knew he would do it. The guy packs his own lunch.”
…
There’s a lot More than Food that Goes into your Lunchbox
Let’s examine the story of Kurt Cobain. Kurt Cobain served as the front man for the massively successful rock band, Nirvana, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Unfortunately, Mr. Cobain took his own life at the age of 27 and left behind a wife and child. His suicide note read that he could not bear to bring up a child in this world with two drug-addicted parents. The problem is, however, that Kurt Cobain packed his own lunchbox – and he was tired of what was in it.
Your life is 100% what you make of it. If you don’t like something, remove it. If you want something to change, you have the power to do so. Every single day you leave your house with this proverbial packed lunchbox. Do you like what’s in it? Do you like what you’re dealing with in life right now? Don’t keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results. Pack your own lunchbox and fill it with things you love. Go forth live your life to the fullest. Don’t let anyone else live a better life than you.
From being a mediocre athlete, to professional powerlifter and strength coach, and now to researcher and writer, Charlie combines education and experience in the effort to help Bridge the Gap Between Science and Application. Charlie performs double duty by being the Content Manager for The Muscle PhD as well as the Director of Human Performance at the Applied Science and Performance Institute in Tampa, FL. To appease the nerds, Charlie is a PhD candidate in Human Performance with a master’s degree in Kinesiology and a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. For more alphabet soup, Charlie is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), an ACSM-certified Exercise Physiologist (ACSM-EP), and a USA Weightlifting-certified performance coach (USAW).